The present invention relates to a system for aiding physically-impaired or disabled persons in moving between different positions, such as between a seated and a standing position relative to a toilet, chair, bathtub, bed or the like, or in ascending and descending stair-ways, and/or in traversing level surfaces such as hallways. Preferably, the system has multi-use versatility with respect to such activities.
Physically-impaired persons having limited mobility often encounter great difficulty in moving between a seated and a standing position, and particularly in doing so safely without falling forward. Yet such movement is necessary for performing the most basic activities of daily living such as eating, toileting, dressing, bathing and transferring in and out of bed. Many different types of devices for aiding persons in at least some of these activities have been developed in the past, as exemplified by the following U.S. patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,874 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,638,647 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,597 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,552 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,517 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,196 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,094 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,771 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,156 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,728 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,106 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,711.
The drawbacks of such devices are that they are generally expensive and yet unsuitable, due to their bulk and/or mechanical structure, for aiding person in all of the different types of rising and seating activities necessary to daily living. For example, such devices designed to assist a person in rising from a chair or a toilet would normally not be readily adaptable for both purposes, nor for aiding the same person in rising from a bathtub.
Moreover, none of such devices would be adaptable for also aiding the person in ascending or descending a stairway or in traversing level surfaces such as a hallway. Entirely different types of devices have been designed for these purposes, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,985,082, 4,253,287 and 4,445,502, British Patent Publication No. 2,106,790, German Patent Publication No. DE3934431, and German Utility Models G8710943.3 and G8217206.4.
Accordingly, if a disabled person with a mobility problem is to remain in his or her home, as opposed to a special care facility, the normal necessities of daily living require numerous such devices of different types which unfortunately are prohibitively expensive for many disabled persons. Nevertheless, allowing disabled persons to remain in their homes has historically been proven to involve the lowest overall cost and the highest therapeutic value to the patient.
Accordingly, what is needed is a multi-use system for aiding disabled persons in moving between a seated and a standing position for purposes of most or all of the above-described normal daily activities, which is preferably also adapted for aiding such persons in ascending and descending stairways and/or traversing level surfaces, and which is significantly less expensive than a combination of currently available different systems, each capable of performing only some of these functions.